Four men have pleaded guilty to affray after a tear gas attack at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 last December left dozens of passengers vomiting, choking and struggling to breathe. The incident, heard at a sentencing hearing at Isleworth Crown Court, forced the terminal to close for hours and caused widespread disruption to shuttle buses and trains, highlighting the serious risks posed by such attacks in crowded public spaces.

Tyrone Richards, 31, Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Omoneke Whyte, 31, and Denzel Eduardo, 29, sprayed a substance believed to be CS gas into a lift at an airport car park at 8am on 7 December, targeting two women who had just arrived from Johannesburg and two men meeting them. The gang then chased the women to a taxi forecourt, spraying CS gas directly in one woman's face and stealing their suitcases, which were never recovered. Bystanders including a Caffè Nero barista, a mother with a 14-month-old baby, and a wheelchair user were caught up in the fumes, with some hospitalised and others reporting they were "struggling to breathe" or vomiting blood.